Clayton B. Grantham

As one of today's most interesting component families, high-value capacitors offer ratings ranging from tenths to tens of farads but suffer from relatively low working voltages. For example, Maxwell's PC10 ultracapacitor occupies an area about the size of a large postage...

A few years ago, manufacturers specified their white, but dim, LEDs for a maximum forward-current rating of 20 mA. Today's white LEDs deliver more light and thus must operate at ever-higher bias currents. Maintaining control of an LED's bias point while operating at...

No matter what portable power source you use, the lower the starting voltage your circuitry operates at, the better. A lower startup voltage also maximizes runtime. Furthermore, to completely discharge the power source, circuitry must run on ever-lower voltages and...